Pages

Ghanto/ Lentil with Veggies and Leafy Greens

1:07 PM

If you follow Bengali cooking recipes then you must agree that Bengali cooking terms and methods are a bit quite confusing. We make mixed vegetables in numerous ways and give every type a new name like ghanto, charchari, chyanchra, bati tarkari, labra etc. sometimes even a true Bengali who has grown up solely on the regional cuisine cannot tell the difference at all. And if that numerous ways are not enough we again have made variations in this categories too like pui shaker ghanto (Malabar spinach curry) is a dish where the gravy coats the veggies but in Bandhakopi’r ghanto (dry cabbage dish) is a dry dish. Confused? Then let me warn you am going to confuse you more with today’s recipe. :-)

Ghanto in Bengali means a mixture where the ingredients are mixed with each other, sometimes beyond recognition. And this dish is a perfect example of the literal meaning… which is meant to be cooked in a way where all the vegetables are soft and mushy and entirely mixed with each other and this is known as ‘Ghanto’, which might be unknown to many Bengalis. We mostly are familiar with ghantos where one main vegetable rules the dish like mulo’r Ghanto (dry Raddish dish with potatoes), Lau Ghanto (bottlegourd dish) etc but only ‘GHANTO’? well that’s quite unheard, right? So let me explain, this is a lentil based vegetable dish where leafy greens and veggies are added, sometimes with a handful of prawns. This is a daily dish in the coastal villagers of West Bengal where I have my roots. It is a common sight in rural Bengal where village women collect varities of leafy greens from the sides of ponds or from fields on their way back after the bath in pond. Sometime its kolmi shaak (water spinach), bothua shaak (lamb’s quarters), gima shaak (Hydroctyle rotundifolia) or the hingche shaak (Enhydra fluctuans) thisprovides for the veggie dish. For the non veg the man of the house use a standing net, knitted of nylon thread on a triangular cane base. They place it overnight at the narrow openings of the canals or ponds to get small prawns, fishes and crabs in the morning. And trust me with these meager ingredients they prepare amazing meals. Whenever am there I always make it a point to go to our neighbors to share their meals. Now back to my recipe. Though this is meant to be cooked with Malabar greens but as told, the poor villagers make it with the varieties of greens. With that they throw in whatever veggies they have like ripe parwal or cluster beans, baby potatoes or colocasia roots. Being the fish lover Bengalis are Sometimes they combine it with a handful of small prawns from their net.

Malabar Spinach form my garden

My Sejo jethi (Aunt from paternal side) makes it finger licking good. She passed the recipe to Maa and from her I got…carrying on the good work!!! huh. This is the most versatile dish I ever cook…you can add any vegetable that you cannot use in regular cooking like ripe parwal, hard eggplant, over ripe pumpkin etc but one veggie that you have to use is the colocasia roots as that gives it a thick texture. I personally prefer to cook it with Malabar spinach, pumpkin, colocasia roots, potatoes and any ripe vegetable from the fridge. The Malabar spinach in this dish are from my winter garden which means this recipe was stored in the draft before I went for my lo…ng break.

Before you get into the recipe here are some pictures from the village I talked about so much.

And here is some picture of fishing in a pond (this is not the net I talked about) with hand net

Method:Put the yellow lentil in a heavy bottom pan or kadhai and dry roast on low till a nice roasted aroma comes. During this process keep on stirring as it might burn at the bottom. The roasted lentil would be golden in colour without any black grain.

Wash this and boil with fresh water (4 cups) with turmeric and grated ginger.When the lentil is half cooked (approx. 10 minutes) add the vegetables and salt.

Once the veggies are cooked and the lentil is soft take off from heat and keep aside. It should have a moderately thick consistency, not runny. So please adjust the water accordingly.

Now heat the oil in a bigger pan and add panchforon, dry red chillies and onion one by one. When the onions are lightly coloured add the prawns and fry for a minute.

Share This Story

You Might Also Like

52
comments

Welcome back. Yes, Bengali dishes have so many unique names. I love the simple ingredients and taste of Bengali cuisine. Ghanto looks yummy. Love the village pics too, must be nice to have fresh Fish to cook right away! :)

For us Ghonto needs no introduction. We definitely prepare it once a week. Yours preparation tops it all. Not only it is delicious , it is healthy as well. Loved the way the fisherman caught fish for instant cooking. Loved the pics.

Hi!! Thats a wonderful post dear! Love the selection of veggies and this is so healthy! you had asked me about the colorful muffin cases, mine are not paper ones but silicon ones, i bought these from swiss, i havent found these in india, if i find anywhere will let you know :)

loved your writeup on the variety of Bengali dishes... And your village pics looks like Kerala our native place.. with lots of coconut tree, ponds and of course fish.. back to recipe Ghanto looks very tasty... will be perfect with rice or roti..

You are right, names are socofusing and there are so much variations under same name, that I go by the cooking method..end of the day " Whats in a Name? ha ha That fistful of prawn will make all the difference I am sure.I also learnt the names of different Sags, thank you !Will try this one as soon as I get some prawns.have as nice weekend

@MAdhu, sorry I forgot to mention the serving size. this will serve 4 persons as an accompaniment to rice. yes. you can freeze this in a covered bowl for a couple of days.best way would be not to put the tempering, whenever you want to use take it out from the freeze, bring it to room temperature and add fresh tempering. that way the aroma would be intact.

Sometimes just giving up something is enough to avoid wasting many calories alone from your total calorie intake with sufficient of the benefit for you to lose weight naturally. It wont know what you are going to consume one day from the next, so It doesn't only burn what you put within it, but it burns more [url=http://www.totallyrealsitez.com]internet[/url] internet http://www.totallyrealsitez.com resorts across the globe are offering to you weight lose vacations. This, I must say, is one of those easy to follow but hardcore workoutsa.

About Me

Mom of two beautiful kids, one 7 years old boy and a 2 years old girl.A true blue Bengali at heart, a self employed Designer who strives to strike a balance between her personal and professional life. Holds her family and memories close to her heart. Finds solace in cooking and feeding with love. You will get to see her whip up old Bengali recipes as well as other kinds from allover the world.
Contact: ahomemakersdiary@yahoo.in